Nail distributor



March 1, 19.32. J3 F. sTANDlsH 1,847,275

NAIL DISTRIBUTOR original Filed March 14. 1927 2 sheets-sheet 1 Mam L,1932. J. F. STANDISH 1,847,275

NAIL DISTRIBUTOR Orgnal- Filed March 14, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedMar. ll, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOI-IN F. STANDISH, OFWINTHROIl MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO 'UNITED SHOE MA- CHINERYCORPORATION, JERSEY OF PAT'ERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF` NEW NAILDISTRIBUTOR Original application filed March 14, 1927, Serialv No.175,251. Divided and this application filed February 10, 1930. SerialNo. 427,253,

The present invention is concerned With distributing apparatus byV whichnails or similar fastenings are taken from a source, as a mass held in areceptacle, and delivered in 3 an orderly manner for their utilizationin different length or the number used in a nailing operation. In thisconnection, thedrum or other nail-container and the iaceway or i'acewaysbywhich the'nails are delivered from the container are mounted to movetogether, as by pivoting theirsupport upon the Yframe, so that theraceways may be emptied back into the container. Nail-stops are associated with the raceways andare movable between eective and ineffectivepositions, this being accomplished simultaneously for a plurality of thestops. I have shown means for thus selecting the stops in groups, so theoperator may readily determine, with the aid of associated index means,the number of nails to be delivered throughthe raceways. Nail-reversingabutments or members asso ciated with a raceway or raceways are mademovable by connect-ion with a setting member provided with index means,lso the desired position of the abutments may readily be determined forany length of nail. Such reversing means, without reference to themanner of its adjustment, is caused to move, during its variation inposition to correspond to Vdifferent nail-lengths, in a directioninclinedv to the vertical. Consequently, the distances of an'abutmentfrom the nail-supporting surface of the raceway and from the wall whichlimits the movement'of the nail during its reversal are simultaneouslyaltered.

In the accompanyingl drawings, n

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one embodiment of my invention, withparts broken away and in section; ,-x

Fig. 2 illustrates in broken side elevation the setting ldevices for thenail-stops and reversing abutments Fig. 3 shows the nail-separators andstops l including portions of an associated heel-attaching machine; andl Fig. 5 is a section through the distributing apparatus on the line V-Vof Fig. 1.

A column 12 has, at the upper rear portion,

a bracket 120, upon which is pivoted about a sleeve `122 a supper-5.124for the chief elements of the distributor.,(A` .pinv 126serves todetachably lock the support upon the bracket in its normalposition, andmay be removed to allow the support and containing elements of thedistributor to be tilted rear wardly for 4the purpose of emptying thenails. A nail-receptacle or container is carried by the support, thisbeing shown, iupart, as a conical casing 128 integral with said support,with its interior accessible through a door 129. Secured to a wall 130within the casing is a horizontal spindle 182, about which rotates anail-drum 134, held releasably in place by a hand-nut 136 threaded uponthe spindle. yBuckets 138 about the` drum successively lift thecontained nails and empty them upon the diverging receiving walls 140 ofthe raceways. These raceways, of which eleven are herein shown, mayconsist of pairs of spaced bars 142, 142, upon which the nails descend,hanging vby their heads. To free the raceways of displaced nailsY whichmight interfere with the proper delivery, pairs of clearing Wheels 144.144 are arranged upon a shaft 146 at opposite sides ot eachnailconveyiiig slot. wheels are provided with inclined peripheiiesformed with serrations, and when these are rotated in an anti-clockwisedirection or so they falll into the casing and return to the drum. Torotate the shaft 146,v which is journaled horizontally across theforward end'of the casing, it is belted at 150 (Fig. 4)

This

The c f (Fig. 5), they act to rake back thedisplaced nails, either intoposition between the bars,

122. Said driving member is belted at 156 to the hub of a main drivingpulley (not illustrated), and is controllable to produce engagement orrelease of the clutch, through a rod 153 extending through the sleeveandl provided with a handle 154. From the clearing-wheel shaft, rotationmay be communicated to the drum 134 through a train of gearing 158 (Fig.5), a shaft 160 journaled upon the support, and gearing 162. Toempty thedistributor of its contained nails, it is tilted upon its pivot, so thatthe support leaves its seat upon the bracket, and theraceways becomesuliiciently inclined to cause all the nails in them to flow back bygravity through the open ends of said raceways into the drum. In thisposition, the distributor is held by contact of dependingl arms 167 withportions 163 of the frame. All the nails *being discharged vfrom theraceways, the operator has only to remove the nut 186, and, lowering thedrum from the` spindle, empty it. Then it may be filled with nails ofanotherlength, restored to its place lupon the` spindle, and thedistributor and its support tipped back to the normal position.Extendlng between the column and each arm 167 upon the support, is aspring 165, which isv under constant tension. This acts as a counterbalance for the weight of the tilting portions of the distributor,both-,during the nailemptying operation and during return movement. Thedouble action is due to the fact that the arms 167 pass to oppositesides of the'vertical through the pivot 122 during the oscillation ofthe distributor.

It may be desired to supply nails, as to the jack of a heeling machine,from all the raceways or from but a portion. I have shown C five of theraceways as invariably conveying nails, while with the other sixraceways means is associated for checking at will the flow through them,the control being exercised `in groups. In theV present instance, thegroups C include, respectively, five, seven, nine and eleven raceways,though any other desired combinations might be employed. Mounted uponthe support, above each raceway to be governed, upon a spring 164 is astop-finger 166, the point of which mayeither occupy an effectiveposition, in which it lies in the pathr of the nails, or may be soraised that it is ineffective. To allow the chosen combination ofstop-fingers to be selected to cut off thesupply of nails through thecorresponding raceways, there extends beneath the fingers a vshaft 168journaled at opposite sides of the raceways Secured upon the shaft andco-operating with each finger is a cam 170, the finger being forcedagainst the cam by its mountingspring. Fixed upon one end of the shaft,is a handle 172, by which it may be turned, this handle carrying aspring-actuated latch-174, adapted to engage any one of fsix numberedopenings 17 6 in an index-plate178. Theanv pears in Fig. 3 of thedrawings, with its latch in the opening numbered 5. All the cams willnow permit the stop-fingers to bar the associated raceways, so onlythose not controlled will be free. Or, when the latch engages theopening numbered 11, the cams act toy raiseallwthe fingers, so that theentire series of raceways deliver the nails.

Just before the nails leave the body-poi tions of the raceways andpa-ssupon more steeply inclined ends 179, which insure the proper advance ofsingle nails, they are acted upon by separatingv devices, which pickthem off one by one fordelivery. Each device` is in the form ofia disk180, having in its periphery a notch Y182 of such dimensions that,whenbrought into registration with theupperor main portion of t-heraceway, it will re.- ceive a single nail, andv then, upon rotation ofthe disk, will transfer this to, the lower section, 179 and release itfor delivery. Each disk is secured upon a shaft 184 journaled at oneside of the raceway controlledand having fixed upon its lower end alpinion 186. Tit-hy 'l which, at definite timesin the operation of Lautomatic loading 01 `transferring' mechanism for the jaclrof theassociated heelattaching machine, may be driven by connection to atubularshaft 260. In this manner, the lever 196', and therefore theseparator-disks, are operated in Correct time-relation withthe loadingmechanism.

lVhen the nails areftovbe driven upwardly into the work, as from a ack,-they must be delivered'with their heads down. verse them from the`positions they occupy upon the raceways, they contact with abutments 200(Fig. 2), so located between the ends. 17 9 of the racew'ay-barsthat-they restrain the depending points, while the heads, continuingtheir advance, overbalanceon the upper edges ofthe abutments. The'nailstherefore lenter vertical passages 202 with their points up.Vll'iesepassages,areV formed between the forward extremity cfa-bracket204 secured to thesupport 124 and a removable wall 206 held in place-bylscrews 208. 1n caseof clogging, this wall'may be taken off to clear thepassages. To. most effectively produce. the reversing action, thevabutments To reu must be diii'erently located for dilierent lengths ofnails. I have therefore mounted them for adjustment in twodirections--vertically toward and :trom the nail-supporting surfaces ofthe raceways, and horizon-rv tally to approach and retreat from the walla liagonal movement of the abutments, or

at an angle to the vertical. F or this purpose, each abutment isprovided with a slot i210 inclined upwardly and forwardly and havingpassing through it a supporting rod Q12 mounted at its ends inthebracket 204. To move each abutment over the rod 212, there is shownconnected to it an eccentric-rod 214 acted on by an eccentricQlG iixedto a shaft 218 journaled in the bracket below the raceways. Secured toone extremityof the shaft is a handle 220 having a spring-actuated latch222 arranged to enter any one ot a series of openings 224 in anindex-plate 226. The openings 224i may bear designations correspondingto lengths of nails which the distributor is to deliver. As illustratedin Fig. 2, the abut-ments are adjusted for acting upon the shortest nailwhich is to be used, the eccentrics 216 holding the abutments at theirhighest points and nearest to the wall 206. At this time, the lower endof the slot 210 is in proximity to the rod 212. I/Vhen the shaft 218 isturned by the handle to set the eccentrics at another angle indicated bythe index-openings 224, the abutments are moved down upon the rod andsimultaneously away from the wall. The upper edges ot the abutmentstherefore engage the longer nails farther from the heads, and greaterspace is given between these edges and the wall .206 'for the nails toreverse. From the passages 5202, the nails pass through curved tubes 228to a set o delivery-tubes 230 mounted in a removable frame 232. Thelower ends of the tubes 230 terminate in a foot-plate 234, in which theyare arranged according to a nail ing design similar to all or a part otthe passages in the jack-top. of the frames Q32 with dierently arrangedtubes will provide for the delivery of the nails in accordance with thedesign desired Jfor the insertion of the astenings.

Having described my'invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is l. In a nail-distributor, aframe, a nailcontainer movable upon the frame to empty the nailstherefrom, a raceway mounted upon the container and arranged in themovement of said container to deliver rearwardly to the container nailswhich it carries, kand means The substitution p arranged tocounterhalance the weight of the container and raceway during theirmovement.

2. In a nail-distributor, a frame, a nailcontainer movable upon theframe to empty the nails therefrom, a raceway mounted upon the containerand arranged in the movement of said container to deliver rearwardly tothe container nails which it carries, and means arranged tocounterbalance the weight of the container and raceway during theirmovement both to the delivering position and in their return to normal.

3. In a nail-distributor, a frame, a support pivoted upon the trame, anail-drum rotatable upon the support, and a slotted raceway carried bythe support and receiving nails from the drum and conveying them hangingby their heads through the slots. the support being movable upon itspivot to empty the raceway rearwardly, said raceway being open at itsupper extremity to permit the passage of the nails through the openinginto the drum.

4. In a nail-distributor, a frame, a support pivoted upon the frame, avnail-drum rotatable upon the support, raceways carried by the supportand receiving nails from the drum, the support being movable upon itspivot to empty the raceways into the drum,

and a tension-spring extending between the support and frame.

5. Ina nail-distributor, a frame, a support pivoted upon the frame, anail-drum rotat-- able upon the support, racewayscarried by the supportand receiving nails from the drum, the support being movable upon itspivotto empty the raceways into the drum, and a tension-spring extendingbetween the support and frame, said spring being arranged to exert aforce resisting movement of the support both to the raceway-emptying andnormal positions.

6. In a nail-distributor, raceways, a nailstop for each of a pluralityof the raceways, said stops being movable between eitective andineiiective positions, and means arranged toposition simultaneously aplurality of the stops in variable groups, the magnitude of the groupsbeing determined by the positioning means. y

7. In a nail-distributor, raceways, a nailstop for each of a pluralityof the raceways, Y

said stops being movable between effective and ineiective positions, amember for positioning each stop, and means common to allI 'Jaa ` berwith which the handle co-operates.

11. The combination with an inclined nailconveying raceway comprisingspaced bars between which nails may travel supported by their heads, ofa reversing member arranged Y* between the bars to contact with thedescending nails and extending below said bars, a wall'situated' at theend of the raceway opposite the depending portion of the reversingmember and furnishing therewith a discharge-passage for the reversednails, and means arranged to move the reversing mem ber toward and fromthe wall.

12. The combination with an inclined nailconveying raceway comprisingspaced bars between which nails may travel supported by their heads, ofa reversing member arranged between the bars to contact with thedescending nails and extending below said bars, a wall situated at theend of the raceway opposite the depending portion of the reversingmember and furnishing therewith a discharge-passage for the reversednails, and means arranged to move the reversing member simultaneouslytoward and from the supporting surface of the raceway and toward andfrom the wall.

13. The combination with an inclined nailconveying raceway, of anail-reversing member acting upon nails descending the raceway and beingmovable for action upon different lengths of nails, a movable settingmember provided with index means, and connections between the settingmember and reversing member arranged to shift said reversing member uponmovement of the setting member and in accordance with the indicationgiven'by the index means.

14. The combination with an inclined nailconveying raceway, of anail-reversing abutment movable in the raceway,.and connections betweenthe abutment and raceway comprising a co-operating projection and slot,said slot being inclined to the vertical.

15. The combination with an inclined nailconveying raceway, of anail-reversing abutment movable in the raceway, a rotatable member, andactuating connections between the member and abutment. Y

16. The combination with an inclined nailconveying rac-sway, of anail-reversing abutment movableV in the raceway, connections rear/,ava

between the abutment and raceway comprising a co-operating projectionand slot, said slot being inclined to the vertical, a rotatable shaft,an eccentric fixed to the shaft, an eccentric-rod connected to theabutment, a handle fixed to the shaft, and an index member with whichthe handle co-operates 17. The combination with a series ofnailconveying raceways, of a nail-reversing abutment movable in eachraceway, a shaft eX- tending adjacent to the raceways, an eccentricfixed upon the shaft for each abutment, an eccentric-rod connecting eacheccentric to its abutment, and index means associated with the shaft.

18. The combination with a series of nailconveying raceways, of anail-reversing abut ment movable in each raceway and having a slotinclined to the vertical, a projection from the corresponding racewayentering the slot, a shaft extending adjacent to the raceways, aneccentric iXed upon the shaft for each abutment, an eccentric-rodconnecting each eccentric to its abutment, and index means associatedwith the shaft.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

A JOHN F. STANDISH-

